Instant Pot Vegan “Beef” Stew with Soy Curls

A fragrant, delicious, hearty bowl of Instant Pot Vegan “Beef” Stew made with soy curls. This is a rather traditional recipe except for the meat, of course. Carrots, celery and potatoes add heartiness and savory herbs add more fragrance and deliciousness than you’ll be able to stand. A vegan, nut-free recipe.

If swaddling yourself in a blanket and plunking down on a couch, a bowl of piping hot stew warming your hands, is your idea of dealing with the brain-freezing chill that’s enveloped us these past few days, I have the perfect recipe for you today: my Instant Pot Vegan “Beef” Stew with Soy Curls. It’s filled with healthy protein, tons of veggies, and savory, fragrant herbs.

Even better, you’ll need to get out from under your blanket for just a few minutes to put this together in your Instant Pot.

I have shared vegan meat stews with you before, and I have always stuck with a rather traditional recipe that includes celery, carrots, onions, and potatoes. The herbs, and I use a lot of them, are key to making this recipe shine without the meat, so don’t leave them out.

I really enjoy cooking with soy curls because they have great texture and texture is really a key requirement in this stew. The carrots cook to soft velvetiness, the potatoes are creamy, and the chewy soy curls make this recipe all the better. If you want to make this stew soy-free, use a meaty mushroom instead, like portobello or shiitake or cremini.

You can also, of course, use both the mushrooms and the soy curls, as I sometimes do. Double the fun.

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can certainly make this recipe on the stovetop. It doesn’t take very long either, and is just as delicious.

Reconstitute the soy curls by soaking them in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain and squeeze to remove excess moisture, then toss them in a bowl with half the herbs, salt, ground black pepper and flour.

Heat the oil in the Instant Pot, press the saute button, and set it to low. Add the soy curls and cook, stirring constantly, for a couple of minutes, until they start to brown a little. I find the Instant Pot saute function at normal tends to heat up too fast, so setting it to low is preferable to give the soy curls some time to brown. If they start to stick, add some vegetable stock.

Add the onions, garlic, celery, carrots and potatoes and stir to mix. Add the wine if using, and let it cook a further couple of minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the tomato paste along with the remaining herbs and liquid aminos, if using. Mix well.

Add three cups of vegetable stock. Click the lid of the Instant Pot into place. Press the manual button and set to 15 minutes to pressure cook.

Once the steam has released, open the Instant Pot and add the frozen peas and vegan butter. Mix well, check if more salt and black pepper are needed, and stir in parsley.

Serve hot.

Recipe Notes

I love this stew over a bed of quinoa or with a crusty bread like a baguette.

Comments

This sounds good. I did buy soy curls once and liked them but never got them again. Probably it’s because the most cost-effective way was to buy it online and in a pack of 3, which lasted for a really long time.

The weather in Atlanta has been very conducive to stews—much colder than normal—so this may be in my future, over quinoa.

You and I are similar with our perspective and use of olive oil—using it very moderately. But have you heard about algae oil? It’s new. Supposedly no taste, high flash point, less saturated fat. Should get my first bottle in a couple of days.

We really enjoyed this stew. I’m eating leftovers now and loving them. I ordered the soy curls online for this stew specifically. So far it’s my favorite thing to make with them. I don’t have an Instant Pot, but I have a Power Pressure Cooker XL (which I think is similar). But, I changed the recipe to saute up to step 3 on the stove in a saucepan. I transferred to Power Pressure Cooker at Step 4 and followed directions from there and it was done perfectly. Thanks for the recipe!